Habitat Conservation: Habitat & Farmlands...between our grocery lists and the endangered species list. Agriculture's most significant impacts concern water and aquatic systems. Water

Habitat Conservation:Habitat & Farmlands

A report developed for www.biodiversitypartners.org andDefenders of Wildlife

Author: Dan ImhoffWatershed Media2004

I. Introduction 3

II. Issues 6

III. Examples 14

IV. Benefits and Challenges of Managing

Farm Lands for Habitat Values 29

V. Recommended Reading 31

1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

With nearly two-thirds of the lower

48 states' land base engaged in

some form of farming and ranching activities,

agriculture is a dominant force on the

U.S. landscape. The importance of vital

agricultural production systems for the

country and for the world

as a whole cannot be

over-emphasized. Most

obvious are agriculture's

immense contributions to

both global and regional

economies and food and

fiber systems. Another

often under-estimated

value of agricultural lands

is the essential habitat linkages well-managed

farms and ranches can provide in maintaining

healthy ecosystems.

It wasn't by accident that the most

biologically diverse and productive lands

were settled for agriculture. Choosing

places with the best soils, access to water,

and beneficial climatic conditions, U.S.

agriculture spread from fertile river valleys to

converted grasslands and woodlands and

finally to more marginal lands and wetlands.

By the mid-twentieth century, agriculture

became increasingly mechanized and

industrialized. Farms that previously

combined row crops and livestock within a

matrix of non-cropped areas gave way to

specialized, monocrop

operations that required

ever larger areas to

operate. Fencerow-to-

fencerow conversion of

hedgerows, shelterbelts,

wetlands, and wildways

greatly increased the

separation between agri-

culture and the native

landscape. The ever-expanding production of

commodity crops led to decades of low

prices. In an effort to survive in an

increasingly globalizing economy,

landowners resorted to overgrazing,

overplanting, overplowing, chemical

intensive monocultures, and other forms of

land misuse.

Among the many devastating

consequences of modern agriculture are

3

I. INTRODUCTION

Photo by Gary Randorff.

habitat destruction and fragmentation, the

displacement of native species and the

introduction of exotic species, pollution

of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, soil

erosion, the persecution of predators, the

release of genetically

modified organisms, and

the overexploitation of

nonrenewable resources

for food production and

distribution. According

to the US Department of

Agriculture's own 1996

statistics, farming

activities contributed to

46 percent of species

listed as threatened or

endangered, and ranching

to 26 percent (USDA,

America's Private Lands:

A Geography of Hope,

1999).

Agriculture has also had disproportionate

impacts on certain habitats over others.

Floodplains-essential to all healthy river

systems-have always been attractive to

agriculturalists and have been usurped and

re-engineered for farming in areas throughout

the country. Tens of millions of acres of

grasslands have been converted for the

production of grains, while oak woodlands

throughout the west coast were cleared first

for fruit tree crops and more recently for

vineyards. At the same time, those

wildlands that we have managed to protect

are not proportionally

represented throughout

our ecoregions. Instead,

protected wildlands have

primarily been relegated

to high elevation

coniferous forests and

alpine regions rather than

complete sweeps of the

landscape.

Today, just under five

percent of the land in the

continental United States

has been protected as

roadless wilderness.

Many of those protected

areas have become too

isolated and fragmented to support the

diversity of native and migratory species that

depend upon them for survival. With so much

of the land now in farming and ranching

activities, agriculture can and must provide

vital linkages between fragmented wildlands

and between aquatic and terrestrial habitats.

HABITAT & FARMLANDS4

Photos by Dan Imhoff.

With the proper incentives, assistance,

and resources, farmers and ranchers could

be supported to manage their lands more

sustainably, and profitably, while protecting

conservation values. The integration of native

habitats and wildlife on farms and ranches

can bring a number of agricultural, economic,

and conservation benefits, such as:

• Yield enhancement (pollination and

biological pest

control);

• Reduction of yield

losses (wind

protection, erosion

control);

• Water quality

improvements

(sediment filtration, streambank

stabilization, water table recharge);

• Biodiversity protection (seed dispersal,

breeding opportunities, aquatic and

terrestrial habitat linkages for native and

migratory species);

• Restoration of previously damaged

landscapes and the protection of remnant

intact habitat types;

• Restoration of ecosystem processes

such as flooding,

lightning-ignited fire,

nutrient cycling, and

predation;

• Agrotourism

opportunities (bird and

breakfasts, fishing and

hunting opportunities,

farm visits).

HABITAT & FARMLANDS 5

Photo by Robert Payne.

6

FARMING THREATENS HABITAT

Agricultural expansion in the lower 48

states has been the leading cause of

habitat loss and fragmentation, which in turn

remains the primary threat to imperiled and

federally listed species (Stein, Kutner, and

Adams, 2000). This ranks farming and

ranching as an even greater threat to

biodiversity loss than commercial

development, pollution from manufacturing,

logging, energy exploration, and other

II. ISSUES

Importance of various forms of habitat degradation.

activities (Bruce A. Stein, et. al., Precious

Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the

United States, Oxford University Press,

2000). As a result, there is a direct correlation

between our grocery lists and the endangered

species list.

Agriculture's most significant impacts

concern water and aquatic systems. Water is

the life force of all living organisms on the

planet, yet nearly 70 percent of the world's

fresh water is consumed by agriculture. The

natural flow of rivers and streams is being

interrupted or depleted and leaves many

habitats high and dry. Lakes are shrinking

due to diversions, wetlands are drained, tilled,

and replumbed, and aquifers are pumped

exponentially faster than they can be

replenished by annual rainfall.

Consider some of the following statistics:

• While U.S. farmers rely on groundwater

for 40 to 45 percent of the irrigation

requirements, irrigation techniques are

only 50 percent efficient.

• 60 percent of the rivers in the United

States have been impaired due to

agricultural runoff.

• Manure from animal confinement

facilities exceeds the volume of human

sewage waste by 130 times, and much

of this waste reaches waterways and

groundwater untreated.

• The flow of nitrogen and phosphorous

fertilizers, pesticides, and other agricultur-

al runoff from the midwestern corn belt

into the Mississippi River has created an

8,500 square-mile hypoxic "dead zone" in

the Gulf of Mexico, causing fish kills,

degradation of coral reefs, and the near

collapse of the fishery. This is just one of

a number of dead zones that have been

identified around the continent.

As far back as the late 1930s, Aldo

Leopold identified the ideal type of agricul-

ture as "biotic farming." "A good farm,"

wrote Leopold, "must be one where the wild

flora and fauna has lost acreage without

losing its existence." (Aldo Leopold, "A

Biotic View of the Land," from The River of

the Mother of God and Other Essays, The

University of Wisconsin Press, 1991.)

Following Leopold's land ethic, agriculture

would take place within a matrix of different

habitat types in any given ecoregion. This

would require conducting ecological


assessments within a given area to determine

what habitat types have been disproportion-

ately affected. Optimal goals would be set to

provide at least 30 percent of undisturbed

habitat type throughout the ecoregion by

preventing the conversion of any intact

habitat for production and restoring already

disturbed areas.

Integrating large blocks of riparian and

associated upland habitats can help facilitate

the movement of many species, particularly

top predators that play a key role in

regulating an ecosystem's predator and

prey population dynamics. Similarly, the

transcontinental journeys of migratory birds,

insect pollinators, and other species can be

aided by the presence of on-farm wetlands

and other blocks of habitat that function as

critical "stepping stones."

Grassland-dependent birds are among

other victims of habitat conversion to

massive-scale, industrial agriculture and

development. The western meadowlark,

for example, was one of Wisconsin's more


Grassland bird population trends.

common birds in the 1960s. Since then, its

numbers have declined by over 90 percent

(Wisconsin Breeding Bird Survey, 1966-

1999). This fate has befallen many of

Wisconsin's — and the nation's — grassland-

dependent species, such as the vesper spar-

row (70 percent decline) and the bobolink (50

percent decline). Other grassland flora and

fauna, from plants and insects to reptiles and

amphibians, have also experienced significant

losses.

FARMING CAN SERVE AS A VITALLINK FOR HABITAT PROTECTION

Protecting, restoring, and expanding

habitats and buffering water bodies within

and between farm and ranch boundaries

should become a top priority for land owners,

conservationists, government agencies,

land trusts, and others. Wildlife corridors,

protected waterways, and other natural

linkages on wildlife-friendly farms and

ranches can provide vital conservation

benefits, such as clean air and water, clean

and stable soils, and varied habitat for native

species. However, larger blocks of habitat

are needed in addition to buffers and linear

features.

Conservation-based agriculture is a

landscape approach to farming and ranching

that attempts to place an optimum value on

food and fiber production as well as the many

noncrop services and contributions to healthy

rural landscapes. The primary objective of

conservation-based agriculture is the creation

of economically viable farming and ranching

operations that are compatible with wild

nature. The expansion of protected and

restored natural habitats, in response to

careful study of ecosystem health, must

become a priority in agricultural regions

throughout the country.

Practices such as pasture-based meat

production, diversified land use (supplement-

ing field crops with livestock, perennial

crops, and woodlots), establishing habitat

buffers along river systems, and protecting

critical natural areas on and adjacent to farms

and ranches help to establish a sense of

fluidity or permeability on the agricultural

landscape.

A number of different strategies can

contribute to a conservation-based farm or

ranch plan:

• Mapping the landscape. Maps compile

the unique characteristics of a given

property as well as the lands outside its


borders in the context of the broader

watershed or ecoregion. These maps can

detail diverse layers of data, such as

species surveys, historical land uses, soil

types and climatic influences, floodplain

patterns, upland and lowland linkages,

wildlife movements, and other essential

planning information. Landowners can

obtain information from state wildlife

agencies, Natural Heritage programs, and

other sources.

• Using complementary practices.

Agricultural practices themselves can

directly reflect a conservation ethic.

Pasturing, mowing, and planting can

be carefully timed to protect breeding

habitat. Perennial intensive pasturing

systems essentially mimic grassland

conditions. Baseline standards for organic

farming have been shown to significantly

reduce impacts on birds and amphibians.

Cultivation practices can also be

developed that respect natural processes

such as flooding or fire in certain areas.

• Fish, wildlife and habitat monitoring.

Monitoring the movements of fish and

wildlife on farms as well as within

broader rural areas can help set priorities

for conservation efforts. This can be done

working with conservation groups and by

participating in annual bird surveys, and

soliciting biological inventories. An

excellent resource is Monitoring on Your

Farm: A Guide to Tracking and

Understanding the Resources and Wildlife

on Your Land, available from Yolo

County, California. Larger scale habitat

monitoring is also important.

• Providing connectivity. An individual

farm or ranch must be seen as both a

stable environment, as well as an integral

part of the broader flows of water, fish

and wildlife movements, and natural

cycles and processes. Connectivity within

a farm can be achieved through intention-

al plantings around and between fields.

Tailwater ponds can filter irrigation water

as well as providing important habitat.

Efforts should be made to link restored

and protected habitats to larger patches

whenever possible within the broader

ecoregion.

• Preserving and restoring native

habitat. Linkages can be provided by

protecting large blocks of intact,

undisturbed habitat, by eliminating


non-native invasive species, and by

encouraging the re-establishment of

native vegetation. The North American

Native Plant Society is a good resource to

get started.

• Enrolling in conservation incentive

programs. Cost-share programs can be

used to help defray the costs of creating

wide buffers around cultivation areas or

in wetland, grassland, or woodland areas.

Long-term or permanent easements

can help protect priority habitat from

unwanted subdivision or development.

Conservation programs can also be

initiated to return marginally productive

lands to valuable habitat or to protect

sensitive or threatened species in an area.

Click here for more information about

state and federal incentives programs.

• Adaptive management. Conservation-

based agriculture is more approach than

prescription. Adaptive management

embraces this ongoing process with a

balance between action and observation,

encouraging landowners to "try, monitor,

adjust, and try again."

CONSERVATION-BASED AGRICULTURE MUST TAKE PLACEON A LANDSCAPE SCALE

Optimizing conservation values on

individual properties is essential. These

individual efforts become multiplied,

however, when practices are integrated on a

regional or watershed basis. Such community

bridge-building may start with farmers,

ranchers, conservationists, agency staff,

and consumers visiting farms and discussing

the important attributes of any given area,

forming management teams, and learning

from one another. From there, communities

of willing landowners, scientific experts, and

concerned citizens can begin to identify the

models, goals, and benchmarks that lead to

regional action.

In the best of all worlds, agriculture

would take place within a matrix of different

habitat types in any given ecoregion. This

will require conducting ecological assess-

ments to determine what habitat types have

been disproportionately affected. Ideally,

goals will be set to provide at least 30 percent

of undisturbed habitat type throughout the

ecoregion by:


1. Preventing the conversion of any intact

habitat for production; and

2. Restoring already disturbed areas.

Habitat conservation programs may

also be initiated by resource agencies and

nonprofit organizations working together to

develop watershed, ecoregional, or state-level

conservation strategies. For example,

The Nature Conservancy has developed

ecoregional plans for most areas in the United

States. All state fish and wildlife agencies

must complete comprehensive wildlife

conservation strategies by October 2005.

Incorporating farmland restoration into

broader strategic planning efforts has a

number of important advantages. We have

already mentioned that nearly two-thirds of

the land is in some form of grazing, haying,

or row-cropping. In many areas, agricultural

land values remain very low, and many lands

are in a somewhat restorable condition.

Farmers, ranchers and conservationists all

have a common interest in preventing or

controlling the spread of weeds and other

non-native invasive species, which are widely

recognized as one of the biggest threats to

native biodiversity. Farmers and ranchers are

on the front line of defense in many areas and

the good ones can and do play a critical

role in keeping these invaders out of native

habitats. In addition, working with farmers

and ranchers will be necessary to achieve the

scale required to reap the ecological benefits

of suitable natural area protection.

A redirection of annual Farm Bill

subsidy payments could help make such

goals economically possible, and help to

achieve the landscape scale necessary to reap

the ecological benefits of habitat protection.

As a result, emphasizing the conservation

incentive programs and eventual appropria-

tions of the next Farm Bill should be a top

priority of conservation-minded citizens.


CORE BIODIVERSITY PRINCIPLES by Jo Ann Baumgartner, director of the

Wild Farm Alliance.

Baumgartner is currently working with

organic certifying organizations to adopt

criteria that define biodiversity protection on

organic farms and ranches.

• Consider farmland within a watershed or

ecosystem context.

• Avoid conversion of sensitive habitats to

agricultural production or development.

• Protect threatened and endangered

species, species of special concern, and

keystone species.

• Conserve and restore native plants and

animals of the production operation,

including in and around water bodies.

• Maintain and restore linkages and

connectivity, including large blocks of

habitat to strengthen regional networks of

conservation areas.

• Prevent introduction and spread of non-

native, invasive species.

• Take advantage of nature's ecosystem

services, such as pollination, pest control,

beneficial predation and fire, flood and

erosion control, nutrient cycling, and

improved water quality and quantity.


14

The nature of conservation-based

agriculture has yet to become fully

developed, though efforts have been

underway in isolated parts of the United

States for more than a decade. A number of

those inspiring stories and replicable models

follow:

• Malpais Borderlands Group — large

natural areas within farmlands (restored).

• Threemile Canyon Farms — large

natural areas within farmlands (restored).

• Hedgerow Farms — strips and patches

of natural habitat between fields.

• Yolo County Landowner Stewardship

Program — strips and patches of natural

habitat between fields.

• Enchanted Acres — lands used

simulatenously for crops, livestock and

wildlife.

• Methow Valley Conservancy — linking

both aquatic and terrestrial needs.

GRASSBANKING AND FIREMANAGEMENT

Malpais Borderlands Group

Identified as one of the pioneering

organizations in the conservation ranching

movement, the Malpai Borderlands Group

consists of approximately two dozen

landowners whose ranches span nearly a

million acres in southwestern New Mexico,

southeastern Arizona, and northern Mexico.

The group was formed in the early 1990s by

ranchers concerned about the long-term

effects of state and federal fire suppression

and overgrazing that lead to critical invasions

of brush and woody species into what had

formerly been luxuriant grasslands. At a time

when anti-grazing activism had reached a

flash point, the Malpai Borderlands Group

founders forged an alliance based on the

common appreciation for the open space

buffers that unfragmented ranchlands provide

over ever-encroaching "wildcat" subdivisions.

Another unifying concern was that their own

activism should be guided by sound science.

III. EXAMPLES

The Bootheel Fire Management Plan

Among the group's initial concrete efforts

was the establishment of the Bootheel Fire

Management Plan. Based on five years of

scientific research and lobbying as well as

consultation with agencies

and private landowners,

the plan identified

landowners within the

region who were willing

to allow (or consider

allowing) lightning-

ignited and prescribed

wildfires to burn within

their properties as a

means to reduce shrub

encroachment and

rejuvenate grasslands. A

simple, color-coded "fire

map" compiled owner

names, boundary lines,

and contact numbers. The

color coding explained

whether fires should be

left to burn, be put out, or

if the landowner would like the opportunity

to decide. Today, as a result of this initiative,

tens of thousands of acres of grasslands now

benefit from the natural pulses of summer

fires.

Grassbanking

Another important community initiative

developed by the Malpai Borderlands Group

is the "grassbank." With neighboring ranchers

experiencing a number of consecutive years

of serious drought

conditions, Malpai

Borderlands Group

co-founder Drum Hadley

offered grazing allotments

on the Gray Ranch as a

regional safety valve.

These short-term

conservation easements

permitted neighboring

ranchers to move their

cattle to the abundant

grasslands of the Gray

Ranch, while restoring

their own pastures

from the ill effects of

overgrazing. In return for

the grazing privileges,

grassbank participants

enrolled selected lands in

permanent conservation easements to protect

against subdivision. With an emphasis on

protecting unfragmented habitats, the group's

grassbank program has allowed tens of

thousands of grasslands to be reseeded and


Over 137,000 acres of grassland on theGray Ranch have benefitted from the

reintroduction of natural or prescribedfires. Photo by Pam Porter.

Animas Valley. Photo by Dan Imhoff.

rejuvenated by fire, and registered 42,000

acres in conservation easements. It is a

model that has been replicated as a regional

conservation tool in various communities,

but should be carefully studied to optimize

grassland restoration rather than to maximize

grazing in arid regions.

LARGE NATURAL AREAS WITHINFARMLANDS

Threemile Canyon

Farms, Columbia Basin,

Oregon

For years a battle

was brewing in a remote

corner of northeastern

Oregon between

conservationists and agri-

cultural and development

interests. At stake were

water rights to the Columbia River and a

large area of undisturbed shrub-steppe habitat

critical to a number of imperiled species,

including ferruginous hawks, loggerhead

shrikes, sage sparrow, Washington ground

squirrel, and several threatened species of

salmon.

Decades earlier, the Boeing Corporation

had leased the land from the state in hopes of

establishing a high-tech aerospace industrial

park. Instead, they ended up subleasing the

land to farmers, who converted much of the

shrub-steppe into circle-pivot irrigated

farmlands. In the mid-1990s, expansion

plans proposed what conservationists

considered excessive water withdrawals

from the Columbia River. After years of

legal wrangling, a large North Dakota-based

agribusiness arrived that was interested in

purchasing the 93,000-

acre property for an

intricate mix of

complimentary uses

but was also open to

protecting its extremely

important native habitat

values.

The R.D. Offutt

Company, a large potato

producer based in Fargo,

North Dakota, saw the opportunity to expand

its operations. As a complement to the

vagaries of food commodity markets,

however, they planned to diversify potato

production by teaming up with a large

Bakersfield, California-based dairy operation,

Bos Family Oregon Farms. Under their plan,

the operation would milk up to 15,000 dairy

cows, grow enough potatoes to feed seven


Washington ground squirrel. Photo by Geoff Pampush.

million people, and raise the necessary alfalfa

and corn for the dairy animals.

In order to do its part to protect one of the

most threatened areas in Oregon, the newly

named Threemile Canyon Farm also agreed

to two critical conserva-

tion efforts. First, under a

negotiated settlement with

conservationists, they set

aside 23,000 acres of

undisturbed of juniper and

sage habitat-one-fourth of

the property's 145 square

miles-in permanent

protection under the The

Nature Conservancy's

management. That land

was contiguous with

already protected habitat

on a property managed

by the U.S. Navy as a

bombing range. Second,

they consented to using

only half of the Columbia

River water originally

requested. This would

keep 120,000 acre-feet of water annually in

the river, the rough equivalent of enough

water to serve 120,000 households in a year.

The farming and business plan rolled out

by Threemile Canyon Farm also seemed

far-sighted in its attempt to recycle and

optimize on-farm resources. At the center

of the plan was a strategy to mitigate the

hazards of compounding

so much manure from

such a large number of

confined animals. With

a $15 million bond

initiative, the farm

created a plant to convert

solid and liquid waste

into methane gas which

in turn generates electrici-

ty to supply the operation

and sell excess power to

the consumers in the

surrounding region.

The remaining manure

is applied to the potato

and forage operations as

fertilizer. In addition,

any skins or crop

residues from the potato

operation become feed

for the dairy cows.

As luck would have it, just as Threemile

Canyon Farm was devising a marketing

strategy for its dairy operation, the western


Native habitat on the BoardmanGrassland Preserve.

Photo by Bruce Taylor.

Crops and native habitat on theThreemile Canyon Farm. Photo by

Bruce Taylor.


Oregon-based cheese maker Tillamook was

facing a milk shortage. While demand for its

cheese was expanding among supermarket

consumers, its cooperative of producers in

Tillamook County on the Oregon coast were

nearing capacity. From the milk produced on

Threemile Canyon farm, Tillamook expects

to produce an additional 58 million pounds of

cheese each year, almost as much as it now

makes in Tillamook County.

To their credit, the

farm's managers have not

overlooked the vulnerabil-

ity and value of the essen-

tial habitat they have set

aside. According to

Defenders of Wildlife

Oregon Biodiversity

Program Director Bruce

Taylor, the shrub-steppe is

extremely susceptible to

fire. "Once the natural habitat is burned in

this very arid ecosystem, invasive species

now almost immediately take over," says

Taylor. As a result, Threemile Canyon

managers have been diligent about reseeding

the borders of crop circles with native plant

species and implementing aggressive fire

protection measures. The farm also

provides funding and in-kind assistance for

The Nature Conservancy's management of

the 23,000-acre conservation area.

In 2003, the farm entered into a

multi-species candidate conservation

agreement with the U.S. Department of

the Interior that formalizes many of its

conservation commitments.

STRIPS AND PATCHES OF NATURALHABITATS BETWEEN FIELDS

John Anderson,

Hedgerow Farms, Winters,

California. Audubon

California's Yolo County

Landowner Stewardship

Program

In an industrial

agricultural region of

California's Central

Valley, a county-wide

movement is under way to reverse decades

of "clean" farming practices. Yolo County's

conservation-based agriculture movement

began like many initiatives around the

country, with the efforts of a few brave

individuals. Twenty years ago, unsatisfied

with a landscape devoid of native habitat

along ditch banks, between fields, and along

roads, John and Marsha Anderson began

Hedgerow farms, Winters, California.Photo by Roberto Carra.

bringing the edges of their 500-acre

Hedgerow Farms back to life.

"A weed-free farmscape doesn't have to

mean vegetation-free," explains Anderson,

a long-time outdoorsman and now retired

veterinarian.

Anderson devoted

himself to studying

California's original oak

savanna ecosystems. In

low-lying areas along

the slough that runs

through the property he

established seasonal

wetlands. He built

tailwater ponds at the

bottom of furrow-irrigated

fields to filter water and

runoff. Eventually, some

50 species of native

perennial grasses, forbs,

rushes, shrubs, and trees

were planted around field

borders, roadsides, riparian areas, and other

unused strips of the farm. Two decades later,

beavers, predators, dozens of bird species

including three types of owls, and up to ten

threatened or endangered species find haven

at Hedgerow Farms.

Hedgerows planted between fields

provide a succession of nectar and pollen

sources for beneficial insects and pollinators.

Research scientists from the University of

California found that the native hedgerows

contributed positively to

the farm's output. The

Yolo County Resource

Conservation District

also took notice of the

important habitat

restoration underway and

began developing both

expertise and cost-share

funds to support regional

landowners. Eventually

the Willow Slough

Watershed Integrated

Resources Management

Plan was generated to

identify measures to

prevent biodiversity loss

and the degradation of

water quality in the Putah-Cache Creek

bioregion.

Inspired by the efforts at Hedgerow

Farms, more of the county's farmers and

ranchers initiated restoration projects on their

properties. With grants from CALFED (the

state and federally financed watershed


Photo by Roberto Carra.

Photo by John Anderson.

enhancement program), Audubon California,

and the Yolo County Resource Conservation

District, over 20 projects are completed or are

underway. Partnering with land owners, local

agencies, and other groups, the county now

has an ambitious plan to create habitat

linkages on both public and private lands

throughout this largely rural area on the

boundaries of urban expansion. These efforts

will protect riparian areas and link critical

upper rangeland habitats as well.

Throughout the county, many cost-share

programs use restoration projects as

opportunities for hands-on learning as well as

field visits for students with limited access to

rural areas. Plantings of perennial grasses,

prescribed burns for weed and vegetation

control, installation of riparian corridors,

tailwater ponds and stock ponds, and

revegetation of irrigation canals and

waterways are becoming standard practices

throughout the region. The Student and

Landowner

Educational

Watershed

Stewardship

(SLEWS) project

brings students

from local schools

to participate in

habitat plantings

and monitoring

efforts up to 50

days per year. These

are hosted by the

Audubon California

Landowner

Stewardship

Program.


LANDS USED SIMULTANEOUSLYFOR CROPS OR LIVESTOCK ANDWILDLIFE

Art Thicke, Enchanted Acres,

grass-pastured dairy, southeastern Minnesota

(in collaboration with U.S. Fish and Wildlife on

grassland bird protection)

In the blufflands of southeastern

Minnesota, a few miles from

the Mississippi River, lives a

farming family that cares

almost as much about resident

prairie birds as they do about

their modest herd of carefully

bred Ayrshire dairy cows.

Owners Art and Jean Thicke

prefer the Ayrshires because

they are hardier, lighter in

weight, and longer-lived than

conventional Holsteins. By

frequently rotating the herd

between pastures, they can also

maintain critical breeding habitat for

many at-risk songbird species, such as

meadowlarks, bobolinks, dickcissels, and

savanna and vesper sparrows.

Unlike the Thickes' rotational pasture

management approach, the meat and dairy

livestock industry is dominated by confined,

grain-fed systems. Awareness has been

increasing about the value of more traditional

pasture-based systems, for a variety of

reasons: (1) sickness of animals from

industrial confinement conditions;

(2) pollution of waterways from untreated

manure ponds; (3) health hazards to

consumers and communities;

(4) a dependence on antibiotics, growth

hormones, and genetically

engineered crops to maximize

quantity over quality.

Grain-fed livestock

production dominates U.S.

agriculture with some devastat-

ing consequences. The majority

of the top three U.S. crops —

corn, soybeans, and hay — are

largely dedicated to fattening

livestock. In addition, an

estimated 13 percent of the

ocean's wild fish harvests are

diverted to cattle rations.

Midwestern prairies that hold the vast

potential to support free-ranging livestock

(and native game set amidst a matrix of

grasslands, wetlands, savannas, and forests)

have been converted into an ocean of corn

and soybeans. The impacts of soil loss and

chemical use in industrial monocultures are


Dairy farmer Art Thicke (left) and USFWS biologist Tex

Hawkins discuss grass pasturesystems. Photo by Dan

Imhoff.

enormous. And more than a thousand miles

away in the Gulf of Mexico, as a result of

industrial corn and soybean production and

concentrated animal feedlot operations

(CAFOs), excess nutrients draining into the

Mississippi River have generated an 8,500

square mile "dead zone," almost completely

depleted of marine life.

The Thickes' intensive rotational

management system is based on maintaining

a balance between activity and rest. The 90

acres of hilly pastures on Enchanted Acres

have been divided into 42 grazing units,

approximately 2-acres in size. The 90-plus

cows in the dairy herd

are usually moved twice

per day. By carefully

responding to changing

conditions on the land,

as well as to the pulses

of wildlife, the Thickes

have created a stable

ecosystem within which

to make their living as

productive farmers. No chemical fertilizers or

herbicides have been applied to the pastures

for 25 years, and the land hasn't been plowed

in 15 years. And while alfalfa, corn, and

soybean farms throughout the Midwest lose

topsoil to erosion on an annual basis, living

pastures such as these keep soil from washing

away and preserve healthy hydrological

cycles, much like the prairies that sprang

from the glacial silt deposits that characterize

the region's fairly fragile soils.

In fact, the Thickes have been operating

their grass-fed dairy since long before

"management-intensive" rotational grazing

systems became popular. Their approach is

based largely on intuition rather than

prescribed management techniques, and the

results are healthy animals that live a noble

life among other species in the biological

community.

Grassland-dependent

birds are among other

victims of habitat

conversion to massive-

scale, industrial agriculture

and development. The

western meadowlark, for

example, was one of

Wisconsin's more common

birds in the 1960s. Since

then, its numbers have declined by over 90

percent (Wisconsin Breeding Bird Survey,

1966-1999). This fate has befallen many of

Wisconsin's-and the nation's-grassland

dependent species, such as the vesper spar-

row (a 70 percent decline) and the bobolink,


Photo by Dan Imhoff.

(a 50 percent decline). Other grassland flora

and fauna, from plants and insects to reptiles

and amphibians, have also experienced

significant losses. Turn to page 6 for a

grassland bird population trend graphic. For

more information, view these websites:

www.grazeonline.com/thicke.html

www.eatwild.com.

LINKING BOTH AQUATIC AND TERRESTRIAL NEEDS

Watershed and upland habitat corridor,

Methow Valley Conservancy, Northeastern

Washington

Planning for broad-scale habitat linkages

at the regional level is a rare and beautiful

thing. In a remote farming valley east of the

Cascade Mountains in northern Washington,

one such effort began with a songbird survey.

In the winter of 2001, the Methow

Conservancy sent landowners in the Methow

River watershed a letter asking if they were

willing to participate in a study to map

critical habitat for endangered birds. An

added incentive for the first 25 who

registered was a brand new Sibley's birding

guide. Much to their surprise, nearly

one-third of the 225 owners contacted agreed

to participate in the program.

Biologist Katharine Bill, along with

biologist Kent Woodruff and former Methow

Conservancy director Brad Martin began by

creating a scoring system with which they

could qualitatively assess habitats. The score

sheet established a matrix of six different

species in cottonwood forested banks of the

riparian bottomlands and in shrub-steppe

upland habitats. The team hoped this

approach would produce a more complete


Western entrance of the Methow Valley.Photo by Dan Imhoff.

The snowmelt-fed Methow River. Photoby Gary Randorff.


picture of various species and their different

habitat needs on a given property.

Conducted over the summer months, the

survey examined 7,000 acres. The individual

scorecards for each property were then used

to generate a color-coded map identifying

priority habitats throughout the valley. With

the goal to protect pristine habitat and to

connect the bottomlands through the uplands

with linkages and patches of contiguous

habitat, this map became invaluable in rank-

ing priority properties.

"Our goal is to keep common birds

common and to protect what is rare," says

Bill, a Yale-educated

biologist and avid rock

climber who now

directs the Methow

Conservancy.

The conservation

easement was one of

the primary tools the

Conservancy used,

along with a program

for habitat restoration

plantings. The timing

of the effort couldn't

have been more

opportune. In the

summer of 2002, they

received nearly $2

million to purchase

perpetual easements for

development rights and

to assist owners in

restoring habitat. For

landowners and the


regional in general, there were a number

of objectives for using easements as a

conservation tool: (1) to protect farmland; (2)

to preserve open space; (3) to lower taxes;

and (4) to prevent subdivision.

Three years later, the

Methow Conservancy had

succeeded in negotiating

more than 30 easements

protecting over 3,000 acres

of land in four categories:

(1) riparian; (2) forest; (3)

agricultural land; and (4)

shrub-steppe. The project

spans from Mazama to

Twisp and includes

easements along the

Methow, Twisp, and

Chewuch rivers. By the

end of 2004, the conser-

vancy expects to have 15

easements enrolled in its

Farm and Ranchland

Protection Program alone,

totaling over 800 acres.

The Methow Conservancy also offer

baseline surveys, annual monitoring and

landowner outreach, and stewardship

planning. And to think it all began with an

aspen woodland songbird survey.

NON-LETHAL PREDATOR MANAGEMENT

Predator Friendly Ranching, Lava Lakes

Ranch, Idaho

Ranching commands

a staggering acreage of

both private and public

lands throughout the arid

West, despite its relatively

small output to the overall

conventional livestock

industry. For example,

grazing takes place on

300 million acres of

public lands in the

western states alone, even

though less than 5 percent

of all beef is produced on

those lands. Still, ranch-

ing remains an essential

component of land use in

the West and ranchers

wield significant political

clout even in the face of a number of

conditions that necessitate urgent change in

order to maintain biodiversity on these lands.

Grazing over long periods of time in

areas of inadequate rainfall results in severe

impacts on the land. Soils become

Pioneer Mountains. Photo by Mike Stevens.

Little Wood River drainage. Photo byMike Stevens.


compacted. Scarce seed banks are consumed

rather than regenerated. The ability of ground

water reservoirs to replenish themselves

becomes interrupted. In addition, large

predators — from coyotes, to bears, mountain

lions, and

reintroduced

wolves — are

persecuted in

the name of

protecting an

increasingly

fragile ranching

economy. This

includes over

200 coyotes

hunted and

poisoned daily

across the country at a taxpayer cost of over

$10 million per year.

Change is underway, however. Drought

cycles, poor economics, and ageing ranching

populations are forcing many people out of

business. Awareness is growing about the

importance of protecting large unbroken

acreage from subdivision and other uses.

Concerns about health dangers from the

conventional animal factory system is driving

consumers toward grass-fed, antibiotic-free,

and hormone-free, organic meat and dairy

products. Interest is rising in developing

economic incentive packages to protect or

retire certain lands that are inadequate for

grazing. Hard work is being done to actually

create a "wildlife economy" in many areas of

the arid West that may one day include

free-ranging bison herds as well as a matrix

of protected critical habitats within working

landscapes.

Lava Lake Land and Livestock:

Ranching with Lions, Wolves, and Bears

Lava Lake Land and Livestock is a recent

emerging example of a large private ranching

initiative that attempts to balance agricultural

production with high standards for biodiversi-

ty protection. Located in south-central Idaho,

the ranch is bordered on two sides by the

Craters of the Moon National Monument, and

Little Wood River drainage.Photo by Mike Stevens.

Gray wolf. Photo by Hank Fischer, Defenders

of Wildlife.

on a third by one of the lower 48 states'

largest roadless areas. Begun in 1999 with the

purchase of a 24,000-acre historic sheep and

cattle operation, the ranch is now comprised

of noncontiguous blocks of nearly 750,000

acres. Federal grazing allotments that span

several habitat types comprise the vast

majority of this acreage, from the Snake

River Plains through the foothills to

mountaintops, including the uplands of

several major river drainages.

Understanding the

enormous biological values of

this sagebrush steppe landscape

began with a comprehensive

vegetation and species study

conducted by veteran range

ecologist Alan Sands. From

those baseline studies, a series

of plans were initiated to

protect critical habitats, restore

impaired riparian areas, and

establish long-term monitoring

projects. The region itself

serves as a vital linkage for numerous

wide-ranging species, including elk, deer,

wolverines, coyotes, mountain lions, black

bears, wolverines, lynx, and, occasionally,

reintroduced gray wolves. Efforts to protect

rare plant communities, songbirds, reptiles,

amphibians, and the sage grouse have also

been undertaken.

Part of the balancing act of managing

the land both for economic viability and

conservation values means maintaining

approximately 8,000 sheep on various

pastures. Mike Stevens is a former Nature

Conservancy field biologist who now heads

up Lava Lake Land and Livestock. He works

with a team of shepherds who carefully

monitor flocks as well as

wildlife movements and other

variables. Stocking levels are

kept flexible to maximize

mobility and adjust to

conditions on the land,

including drought, fire, and the

presence of predators. Lava

Lake Land and Livestock has

also adopted a non-lethal

approach to controlling

predators, which occasionally

cause problems with the flocks.

Traditional techniques are

being used, such as the introduction Great

Pyrenees guard dogs, or the experimentation

with "fladry"-the hanging of fabric strips in

long lines to deter coyotes. The movement of

the flags scares them for a time until they

eventually habituate to it. Stevens and his


Sheep band trailing throughPicabo. Photo by

Mike Stevens.

team of Peruvian shepherds have also worked

closely with various agencies in response to

the occasional appearance of reintroduced

gray wolves. The shepherds are armed

with guns loaded with rubber bullets and

noise-making shotgun shells in the event that

predators do appear. Flyovers have been

increased to track wildlife movements.

Perhaps most importantly, livestock are kept

away from any known or suspected denning

areas.

Among the many impressive

achievements that Lava Lake Land &

Livestock has made in its short existence

has been its choice of active board members.

The board combines a depth of experience in

conservation biology with advisors such as

Reed Noss and Bob Unnasch; with on-the-

ground knowledge from conservation-minded

ranchers such as Greg Simmons, a veteran

ranching consultant with a strong record of

keeping ranching operations in the black with

increased biodiversity values; Ben Brown of

the Gray Ranch in New Mexico, and Becky

Weed, a rancher and co-founder of the

Predator Conservation Alliance.

Visit these links for more information:

www.predatorconservation.org

www.lambandwool.com


POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO LANDOWNERSEnhanced wildlife habitat

Pollination (enhanced yields)

Biological pest control (reduced yield losses)

Wind and snow protection

Erosion control and sediment filtration (improved water quality)

Lower long-term maintenance costs

Aesthetic values

Predation reduction

Additional income

Farmland protection

Buffering against genetic contamination or chemical drift

Community interaction and support

Enhanced public image

Cost-share opportunities

Better market perception

Increased land values

POTENTIAL CHALLENGESShort-term costs of resources and money

Time commitment

Can potentially attract and host unwanted pests or weeds

Depending on practices, may require taking some land out of production

Need for technical expertise and monitoring

Access to programs

Confusing array of programs

29

IV. BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF MANAGING

FARM LANDS FOR HABITAT VALUES

TEN WEB SITES WORTH EXPLORING

Wild Farm Alliance is a leading advocacy organization working to promote agricultural systems that

honor wild nature, http://www.wildfarmalliance.org

Chesapeake Bay Foundation is dedicated to restoring the health of the Chesapeake Bay by working

with agricultural landowners to improve water quality on critical watersheds, http://www.cbf.org

Quivira Coalition works to promote western ranching practices that are ecologically and economically

sustainable, http://www.quiviracoalition.org

Salmon Safe is a Northwest ecolabel organization working to minimize or eliminate harmful chemicals

and sediment from farms, ranches, and publicly managed properties into waterways that support

salmonid fish species, http://www.salmonsafe.org

Bat Conservation International is a science-based organization that works for the protection and

restoration of native bat populations, http://www.bci.org

North American Pollinator Protection Campaign is an organization focused on educating about the

importance of protecting and restoring native habitats for pollinating insects, birds, and bats,

http://www.nappc.org

The Wildlands Project aims to protect and restore that natural heritage of North America through the

establishment of a system of interconnected wildlands, http://www.twp.org

The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center is a model of small-scale, organic horticulture combined with

conservation biology and an emphasis on community involvement and teaching, http://www.oaec.org

Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas provides technical assistance to farmers, extension

agents, market gardeners, agricultural researchers, and other agricultural professionals,

http://www.attra.org

American Bird Conservancy is dedicated to the conservation of wild birds and their habitats,

http://www.abcbirds.org


Adler, Steve, California Vineyards and Wildlife Habitat, California Association of Winegrape Growers,

2003. http://www.cawg.org.

Buchmann, Steve and Gary Paul Nabhan, Forgotten Pollinators, Island Press, 1996.

Creating Native Landscapes in the Northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, Montana Association of

Conservation Districts, 406-443-5711.

Foreman, Dave, Rewilding North America: A Vision for Conservation in the 21st Century, Island Press,

2004.

Imhoff, Daniel, Farming with the Wild: Enhancing Biodiversity on Farms and Ranches, Watershed

Media/Sierra Club Books, 2003.

Jackson, Dana and Laura Jackson, The Farm as Natural Habitat: Reconnecting Food Systems with

Ecosystems, Island Press, 2002.

Logsdon, Gene, All Flesh is Grass: The Pleasures and Promises of Pasture Farming, Swallow Press,

2004.

Sayre, Nathan, The New Ranch Handbook: A Guide to Restoring Western Rangelands, Quivira Coalition,

2001.

Wrysinski, Jeanette, Monitoring on Your Farm: A Guide to Tracking and Understanding the Resources

and Wildlife on Your Land, Yolo County Resource Conservation District, 2002.

Yolo County Resource Conservation District, Bring Farm Edges Back to Life! Yolo County Resource

Conservation District, 2001.

31

V. RECOMMENDED READING

Documents

Habitat Conservation: Habitat & Farmlands...between our grocery lists and the endangered species list. Agriculture's most significant impacts concern water and aquatic systems. Water